ARABICA COFFEE VARIETIES A global catalog of varieties covering: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Malawi, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe Date revised: May 1, 2019 For most recent version of the data in this catalog, please visit: varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org Copyright World Coffee Research, 2019. Arabica Coffee Varieties by World Coffee Research is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. World Coffee Research 10940 SW Barnes Rd #334 Portland, OR 97225 worldcoffeeresearch.org Special thanks to the following reviewers: • Noel Arrieta, Instituto del Café (ICAFE), Costa Rica • Francisco Anzueto, World Coffee Research • Fabian Echeverria Beirute, Texas A&M University • Job Chemutai Alunga, National Coffee Research Institude (NaCORI), Uganda • Jane Cheserek, Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Kenya • Nathan Kachiguma, Department of Agricultural Research Services (DARS), Malawi • Simon Martin Mvuyekure, Rwanda Agriculture and Livestock Development Board (RAB), Rwanda • Pardon Chidoko, Coffee Research Institute (CRI), Zimbabwe • Gusland McCook, Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA) • Dulce Obin, PROMECAFE • José Arnold Pineda, Instituto Hondureño del Café (IHCAFÉ), Honduras • Oscar Ramos, Fundación Salvadoreña para Investigaciones en Café (PROCAFÉ), El Salvador • Carlos Mario Rodríguez, Starbucks • Susana Schuller Petzold, Junta Nacional de Café (JNC), Peru • Alfredo Zamarripa, RD2 Vision (formerly) Photo credits: David Laughlin, Thompson Owen, Christophe Montagnon, Benoit Bertrand, Pascal Gakwaya Kalisa, Nathan Kachiguma, Bram deHoog, Hanna Neuschwander PARTNERS This catalog was developed in consultation with coffee experts from across Central America and Africa, with funding from USAID and UTZ. It is the result of visits to 16 countries and interviews of nearly 180 people from over 100 private and public bodies involved in the coffee sectors in Central America, the Caribbean, and Africa. Costa Rica Centro de Investigaciones de Café de Costa Rica (ICAFÉ) El Salvador Fundación Salvadoreña para Investigaciones en Café (PROCAFÉ), Consejo Salvadoreño de Cafe Guatemala Asociación Nacional del Café (ANACAFÉ) Honduras Instituto Hondureño del Café (IHCAFÉ) Jamaica Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA) Kenya Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) Malawi Department of Agricultural Research Services (DARS) Panama Instituto de Investigación Agropecuaria de Panamá y el Ministerio de Agricultura (MIDA) Nicaragua Instituto Nicaragüense de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) República Dominicana Consejo Dominicano del Café (CODOCAFÉ) Perú Junta Nacional de Café (JNC) Rwanda Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) Uganda National Coffee Research Institude (NaCORI) Zimbabwe Coffee Research Institute ABOUT THE CATALOG Information is power. There are dozens of widely cultivated Arabica coffee varieties around the world, and each is unique in its performance and adaptation to local conditions. This catalog brings urgently needed information to coffee farmers to help them decide which coffee is best for their situation. Agronomic data—expected yield, nutrition requirements, optimal altitude, disease and pest resistance, etc—about the widespread array of existing cultivated Arabica coffee varieties has never been available in an open-access format before. Because the life of a coffee tree is 20-30 years, the decision producers make about which variety to plant will have consequences until the next generation. If a farmer makes a poor decision on variety, the cumulative loss can be huge. Most coffee farmers—who earn their livelihoods based on the decisions they make about what kind of coffee to plant—don’t typically have access to transparent information about available varieties and how they differ. The lack of a comprehen- sive, up-to-date coffee catalog puts farmers at risk and perpetuates chronically low yields around the globe. The purpose of the catalog is to lower the risk associated with coffee farming by providing direct information to farmers and other farm renovation or planting decision-makers to enable them to make an informed choice about what variety is best for their circumstances. Choosing the right type of coffee lowers the risk of disease and pest losses, has consequences for quality in the cup, and will be critical for coffee producers facing rapidly changing climates. Choosing the correct variety—one that meets the farmer’s goals and needs—can significantly reduce losses due to diseases/pests, increase production volume, and/or increase quality. In Central America, the coffee leaf rust crisis of 2012 affected nearly 600,000 thousand acres of farmland. Nearly 300,000 coffee farmers needed to replant coffee because of it. To make the best possible decision about what kind of coffee to plant on a farm, producers need to know which varieties will be best adapted to their locations and farming approaches. Meanwhile, most African coffee-producing countries produce substantially lower volumes of coffee than elsewhere (frequently, less than 500 kg of green coffee per hectare, compared with 1000 kg to 2500kgs per hectare or more). This has profound impacts for farmer livelihoods when farmers are paid per pound of cherry. There is widespread need for replanting with young trees that are resistant to major diseases and pests (including coffee berry disease, coffee leaf rust, antestia bug and stem borer), and with improved varieties. World Coffee Research believes that over 50% of coffee trees in Africa are more than 50 years old. Nearly all of those are old genetic stock and not well suited for the challenges of the 21st century, changing climates in particular. Varieties scope The varieties in this catalog have been selected for inclusion because of their economic, historical, cultural, or genetic importance to the global cultivation of coffee. Because the catalog is meant to be a practical tool and guide for coffee producers, it does not aim to represent an exhaustive list of all coffee varieties in existence. The varieties included here have been selected or developed by farmers and breeders primarily over the last century, although the domestication of coffee began at least 500 years ago. Geographical scope The current version of the catalog covers the most important coffee varieties in the 15 countries listed below. Many varieties in this catalog are also found in countries not listed below. • Costa Rica • El Salvador • Guatemala • Honduras • Jamaica • Kenya • Malawi • Nicaragua • Panama • Perú • Puerto Rico • República Dominicana • Rwanda • Uganda • Zambia • Zimbabwe A living document This catalog of Coffea arabica coffees is a living document and will continue to grow as more regions of the world are covered and as new varieties are developed. Online catalog An extended version of Arabica Coffee Varieties is available in English and Spanish for free down- load online. It contains profiles of 55 varieties and includes detailed histories. varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org USING THE CATALOG This catalog aims to present information for coffee producers and anyone working with coffee plants about how different varieties can be expected to perform under ideal conditions. Of course, coffee is not always grown under ideal conditions. Factors such as environment, alti- tude, soil nutrition, weather, the age of the tree, and farm management practices can significantly affect a coffee tree’s yield, quality, and health. Because of this, it is impossible to give absolute data about certain aspects of a variety’s perfor- mance (for example, cup quality or yield). In those cases, we provide a a common variety (Caturra in Central America, SL28 in Africa) as a reference in the description of relevant variables. If a farmer knows how Caturra or SL28 would perform on their farm, given their particular climate, soil, and farm practices, they should be able to measure the relative performance of other vari- eties against that knowledge. The intention of this catalog is that those working with coffee should be able to make informed decisions about which variety will work best for their situation and needs. VARIABLES Stature What is the growth habit of the plant? Tall, Dwarf/Compact Leaf Tip Color What color are the tips of new leaves? Green, Light Bronze, Bronze, Dark Bronze, Green or Bronze Bean Size How big are the coffee beans? Below Average, Average, Large, Very Large For reference, Caturra = Average, SL28 = Large, and Maragogipe = Very Large Optimal Altitude What is the altitude at which quality and agronomic performance potential is maxi- mized? This especially takes into account the variety’s expected cup quality and toler- ance to coffee leaf rust and coffee berry disease. Optimal altitude depends on a farm’s latitude. Farms located close to the equator will have higher optimal altitudes than those farther north or south of the equator. First, locate your correct latitude, then find the corresponding optimal altitude. Latitude Low Medium High 5°N to 5°S 1000-1200 m 1200-1600 m >1600 m 15°N to 5°N and 700-900 m 900-1300 m >1300 m 5°S to 15°S >15°N and >15°S 400- 700 m 700-1000 m >1000 m Quality Potential at High Altitude What is the potential for quality of this variety when grown at higher altitudes? Very Low, Low, Good, Very Good, Exceptional Yield Potential How much fruit will the coffee tree produce? Low, Medium, Good, High,